They'll just add the $2.00 to other areas of the bill in small sums...they'll get that $2.00 in some way, shape or form.

I suspect the possibility of an FCC investigation had more to do with the $2 fee being cancelled than any consumer outrage.... Great way to spin it of course.

More like the people have been placated for now. It was an assho!e move on their part and like James said, they will get that two bucks from us sooner or later.

Verizon management must have taken a stupid pill. They claimed that not that many people paid their bill online anyway, so really what was the impact? And now they got all this bad press - just like Bank Of America. And these idiots get paid a lot of $$...

You're right James-546195-10449965, and that's why the people are now waking up! Occupy this, occupy that....man people are tired of being ripped off and are recognizing that "they" We The People, can do something about it! Verizon should be ashamed! How was wanting to apply that fee a "convenience"? They're trying to pay for their "Outtage" problems and other issues!...SMH!

This is to all you people, the ones who sit on your hands and do nothing but complain about the 99%. This is what 99% power looks like. The next time you feel compelled to tell someone to get a job and take a bath... remember that it was these same people who signed the petition - people like me - who have a job, take showers and occassionally sign petitions.

The moral of this story: get off your ass and stop relying on everyone else to take a stand for you.

Yeah? I only hope the 99% show up to vote...because they didn't LAST November!!!!

They'll just add the $2.00 to other areas of the bill in small sums...they'll get that $2.00 in some way, shape or form. Totally agree James

But first they will dangle the bone out there to see what kind of shyt storm it will generate, and how many mangy dogs will bite. They WILL recoupe whatever costs they can by whatever means they can.

I agree that the threat of an FCC investigation had more to do with the reversal of this decision than the consumer backlash. The reason that Verizon was trying to do this was to offset the credit card processing fees that get stuck eating when people pay by phone or through the web site. That is why they were waving the fee for those that paid with an e-check. I really can't say that I blame that too much for not wanting to continue to eat these fees, particularly since they have been going up considerably recently. The typical fee these days is 50 cents per transaction plus 2% of the bill. For even a nominal $60 bill this adds up to $1.70, so the $2.00 fee really was not all that out of line. I never pay my bill this way, so this was not going to effect me. Now I will probably see some other fee on my bill go up to cover the costs of those who do pay this way. I would rather have seen them go through with the fee than penalize everyone who has an account with them to pay for those who do use this payment method.

Good. This saves me the trouble of calling or writing to Verizon and chewing them out.

What I really want from the phone companies is for them to stop all this branding of their phones so that I can use my phone with any service the same way that the land line phones work. The prices of these cell phones when they are bought "out of contract" is ridiculous. Other consumer electronics are competitive there is no reason that cell phones should not be as well.

I say leave them both forever, so the next Fortune 500 company that tries to pull an up yours fee knows that their bottom line may be affected indefinitely!

It's all about the marketing. Had Verizon decided to charge a $2 INconvenience fee, nobody would have batted an eye. It's just not convenient to have to pay an extra $2 for an electronic payment, it's inconvenient. They should be charged with false advertising. ;)

Good Lord, you can't charge people to pay there bill!!! Stick it to us some other way, but don't be that frickin obvious next time,,MORON'S... You think they would have learned from those dumb azz banks that wanted to chg a 4 or 5 buck fee just to use your debit card... Good God hide it somewhere else in the phone bill like all the other companies do ..!!

Jahmekan,

More like 3 bucks now since we the people caught them and pizzed them off....??

i live overseas and its shocking the amount of fees that are added onto everything. i had to cancel my atm card because it was costing almost $10 a month just to own it... not to mention the fees such as "check fee" (every time you write a check), "account fee" (fees for just having the account), and "transaction fees" (fees which are charged just for making a purchase with money in your account). i hope americans know how lucky they are!

Again I think if they didn't reverse course on this the most prudent action would be for everyone to start mailing paper checks again. These people think it's costing them money for their customers to use online services, but it's actually saving them a ton of money in labor. Idiots.

Corporate america is getting greeder by the day!

I'll bet they'll find some way to get that 2 bucks! Oh, I have a way of circumventing that 2 bucks they want to pick up. They THINK they're smart bu the all wise cusumer knows how to get around that 2 dollar charge. Verizon will lose customers in spades when they try that bull_— again!

In Baltimore, they (Verizon) are dumping Fox's entertainment affiliate. This has House, etc. This is one of the few channels left worth watching, as the discovery network has taken a nosedive . Go to hell Verizon. You still suck. And I for one, being stuck in a contract with you for the moment consider any program deletions or added non tax fees to be a breach of contract.

Bob I totally agree, they should just suck up cost, as if they can't afford it. Did they not learn a lesson from Netflix, banks charging for a debt card, people are fed up with all the fees, and will take their business somewhere else, I know I will, I'm ready to get rid Charter Cable, they quote you a price and the next thing you know its costing you an extra $35.

Wake up America and let your voices be heard, thats OWS is all about!

Less than 24 hours after their latest data outage too.

WOW what idiots! Don't these corporations ever learn. THis is a PR nightmare. Smooth move Verizon

great way to lose customers................

Wow Verizon... what was the $2.00 for??? Does the CEO need a raise and house in the Hamptons???

dano-3878024

Good Lord,dano-3878024 you can't spell their "there" and expect people to take you seriously!

“At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers. Based on their input, we believe the best path forward is to encourage customers to take advantage of the best and most efficient options, eliminating the need to institute the fee at this time,” said Dan Mead, president and chief executive officer of Verizon Wireless.

Can you believe these lying corporate jerks? Every time you turn around lately some corporate flunky is coming up with ways to screw their customers. Then they lie their way out of it when they get caught. I signed a petition this morning against this Verizon increase and I'm an AT&T customer. I think these companies are all over staffed by workers trying to justify their jobs instead of improving customer service....American business continues to operate like the country is still in the GOP wild west.

We'll continue to find that more and more companies suck as much money out of their existing customer base as they can when they can't grow by acquiring more customers.

Verizon recently dropped their 1000 minute plan and forced customers to switch to either 700 minutes (plus 30 cents per minute for the excess) or a 1400 minute plan. I got sucked into that deal. When I switched plans temporarily to go to Canada, my 1000 minute plan was no longer available when I returned. As a result Verizon now gets to suck an extra $10 a month out of my pocket.

Still wonder where your money is going? It gets sucked away a dollar or 2 at a time. Hopefully we'll win more of these pissing contests.

Well what I find is funny is that Com Ed in IL has been charging a higher fee ($3.50 ) then Verizon for years to pay your bill on line why has there not been a big story about them.

“At Verizon, we take great care to listen to our customers."

Yes, after they have already expressed their outrage at a move you should have anticipated would cause outrage to begin with! Then you listen carefully to them because you know if you don't, you are going to lose customers by the thousands.

You're right, James-546195-1049965, they will simply add the amount somewhere else. The thing is, they already have. As others have pointed out in previous iterations of this article, the business justification for the fee was to offset the costs of credit card transactions (as opposed to the reality, which was to force all their customers to grant Verizon automatic access to their bank accounts each month). Of course, Verizon is a giant company with a vast staff of accountants who would never let a cost like that go unpaid. It's already factored in monthly billing, even for customers who are signed up for autopay (so they already come out way ahead).

This was just an attempt to pull the same BS the airlines seem to have gotten away with.

It's comforting to know that modern corporations care more about looking good to panicky day-trading gamblers than serving the customers who got them where they are.

The typical fee these days is 50 cents per transaction plus 2% of the bill. For even a nominal $60 bill this adds up to $1.70, so the $2.00 fee really was not all that out of line.

There used to be a service called TeleCheck which businesses had to subscribe to in order to determine if a check they accepted was good.

It cost a lot more than processing fees.

This idea that companies should have zero cost is ridiculous. Their CEOs are taking home obscene amounts of money. They can afford to accept the cost of doing business rather than pushing it off to consumers who are already strapped.

The problem with corporations is that they have no concern at all for the well-being of our country. They just want to rape America.

They pulled a Netflix.

I am sure that, to some corporate MBA bean counter, this plan made perfect sense. However, to the end user, charging more money for paying money was ridiculous to the extreme. Verizon is already far more expensive for cell service than any other carrier in the US, so its not like they NEEDED to implement this fee to generate revenue.

I cancel too, this is some stupid,they been overcharge peoples for a long time, close them down peoples, and suite the pants off of them, I want may money's back now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate Verizon, I have hated Verizon since the first customer service nightmare I had with them two years ago...and then the shabby preowned phones they replace broken ones with that don't last three months, then you have to pay to replace the used replacement phone if you want another that works!! Snotty retail salespeople, nearly the most expensive provider around, and the nasty little habit of sneaking fees into your bill and then refusing to give you an itemized statement unless you PAY for it...I find a good ten to 20 bucks worth of fake charges everytime I have the energy to pull my whole bill from online (where I have to print it myself, mind you).

I am SOOO glad my two year contract from Hell is up, and I didn't need this to leave them, can't wait!! but this reinforces my decision to do so. Just trying to weigh my options....there's other companies out there who want our business and will treat us better, I'm sure!

Verizon permits cramming, so you have to check your bill carefully. This is when third parties can charge you for a service you never used without your consent. You'd have to be crazy to turn on autopay.

"I cancel too, this is some stupid,they been overcharge peoples for a long time, close them down peoples, and suite the pants off of them, I want may money's back now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

That comment just made my head hurt from laughing.

I agree that Verizon will just find some other way to get the money, and probably even more, from customers.

That is my thoughts also, did they actually think people where going to be happy about it or not care? I'm sure they will come up with some other way to get your money. If you want to see how far they will go to keep you dump them next time your contract is up and tell them you found a cheaper service. They will beg you to come back.

Verizon will put a new tax on the bill.. 'inconvenience tax'.

Why on god's green earth should anyone pay a fee to make a payment?!!? If you want to send them an extra $2 every time you do so, then what can we say about you?

Let me guess...you're a Verizon exec, right?

You're an idiot if you think you should pay $2.00 to pay your bill.

You seem to be saying that we should pay another ridiculous fee just because. Sorry, Verizon. It doesn't work that way.

I'm curious, Donn. Is it difficult to type with your head up your butt?

It's not just for people with smart phones, some people have cheap plans, and pay online.

If you want the fee, maybe you should call your phone provider up and ask if they can charge you an extra $2 fee every time you pay, I'm sure they'll make that exception for you.

Whiners and crybabies? Seriously?

1) noway, no how am I giving anyone access to my checking account.

2) My bill changes from month to month...(although it should not...)I will be looking at it prior to paying it....that means no autopay.

3) If it pains Verizon so much for me to login to their website to pay my bill that they need to charge me a $2 convenience fee, I have no problem writing them a check and seeing how much that costs them. Bet it would have been more than $2.

4) Who peed in your Wheaties this am?

Just because one bought a smartphone doesn't mean the can afford an on-going $2 fee for the convenience for paying Verizon. And BTW those so called whiners and crybabies are also called 'CUSTOMERS'. I could see if this was some sort of charity program or social program, but it is not. The cost of doing business (ie: processing payments) should already be built into the cost of the product.

Don, seriously.....you are a f'ing moron.

It is not a matter of "if you can afford it"... Its a matter of how they encouraged customers to go paperless and now they want to charge you two dollars all of a sudden to do business with them... Just because a fee is affordable doesn't mean people should just roll over for businesses just because they decide they want more money for no reason... Its time to say no to made up fees if we find a fee unreasonable we will go elsewhere.

They already charge $$ for the phone service. They already charge $$ for texting. They already charge $$ for data. They already charge $$ for hotspot (hotspot should be free, up to your allowable MGs), etc.

Personally, I would have bought out of my contract with Verizon and went somewhere else if this actually had gone through even though the $2 wouldnt have really effected me.

Not to mention, Verizon had 3 outages this month and they were considering yet another "fee".

They should not be charging you to pay your bill.

This isnt anything new. For some odd reason the finance company I bought my car through charges a $10 convenience fee if you pay on-line.

Tell you what Donn- if the $2 doesnt bother you, I'll give you my home address and you can send $2 to me every month.

Donn Bosler

Too bad they had to cave in to all the whiners and crybabies. I'm guessing 90% of the whiners and crybabies are doing it from their smartphones. If you can afford to have a smartphone, you can afford the 2 dollars.

If you can afford a Golden Retriever then you don't need meat.

What an @$$hole! And I'm not even a Verizon costumer.

@my2centsinSD

My bill changes month to month too! Fluctuating between $220- $330.... explain that? I have unlimited talk, text, and web for only 2 smart phones. I can't wait for my contract to run out.

Why not just charge you a fee to read your bill online. Just about as stupid as charging for paying your bill online. Tell the bossman we want all of them to pay their bill online, ok.

I hate 2 year agreements, your phone is obsolute when you get it and you have to pay for it for 2 years and can't change without a fee. What a ripoff.

I left Verizon years ago because of their rip-off fees and rates. Anytime I called their customer service, I was even more upset after speaking to them. I've been with another carrier since, and VERY satisfied with the price, service and anytime I've ever needed to contact them with any question or problem, I know the real meaning of customer service. Now, Verizon wastes so much money and fills my mailbox with so much printed materials begging me to come back, if they had used half of that money to make their existing customers happy, they wouldn't need to yet again rip off their existing customers with more fees.

Whether the consumers can and can't pay is not the issue. It is the question whether VZW wants the business or consumers want vzw service.

The decision of vzw said it all.

Remember the old saying. The customer is always right!

If you live in West virginia, Virginia, and I think North Carolina, check out nTelos. reasonable plans, no hidden fees. they tell you up front what it will cost. i have had the same plan for 10 years, and all they ever do is call or text to try to get me to change. As long as they do that, I know i have a good one. Unlimited talk, the US and canada local call, and 200 roaming minutes a month. $49.99. Plus handset ins., and taxes, comes to $65.00 a month. Been that way for 10 years. been a customer for 16. nTelos has refused multiple offers of a buy out. They are happy with the money they make.

If you go with them, tell the Mark from Morgantown sent you. I won't make a nickle, but maybe they will give me a new phone for free.

Donn Bosler

Too bad they had to cave in to all the whiners and crybabies. I'm guessing 90% of the whiners and crybabies are doing it from their smartphones. If you can afford to have a smartphone, you can afford the 2 dollars.

Hey Donn, you a stockholder then? I'd recommend you sell in the current environment.... charging customers for making electronic payments in favour of snail mail check payments is a desperate move to improve revenue outlooks.
BTW, I don't have a smartphone so are you gonna pay my bill? I won't whine about it but you can if you want to.

Um. To all that say that it's something they should do because of the fees charged to them, or that we are all crybabies:

Via Change.org: "a recent report says Verizon paid zero federal income tax from 2008-2010, and actually got almost a billion dollars in rebates from taxpayers."

Don, look what you did. That was just a dumb thing to say....really.

Come on Don, post some more idiotic BS!

I have a "dumbphone" and I intend to keep it. No way I'm paying an extra $30 a month to carry the Internet around with me all day.

So when you're talking about more battles between "Corporations" and "People", do you mean fistfights? Because according to the Supreme Court and Mitt Romney, "Corporations are people, my friend..."

I think it has more to do with the banks than with Verizon. The banks are trying to get the $5.00 for your Debt Card use. What's next our utility companies doing the same? I'll be sending my payments by snail mail and stopping my paperless bills also. We need to save the United States Postal Service.

The same one who was at Netflix when they wanted to raise rates 60% and add nothing more to their services. The same one who was at BoA who wanted to charge and additional $5 fee for doing absolutely nothing.

These corporations wont be happy until they squeeze every last freaking dime out of middle america. MAYBE, the long silent and much squeezed middle class is starting to rise up. It's about time.

If you have ever worked with the upper echelon of a big corporation it is easy to see where this kind of thinking comes from. Since the direct approach didn't work I'm sure that someone in management is already scheming some kind of end run tactic to generate this "lost" revenue that they didn't deserve in the first place.

confussed 1578043

Why should we help the postal service they are nothing more then a glorified UPS nobody really sends a letter anymore do they? Even if they do it takes a week or two to get it there so that just leaves them shipping parcels which is no different then UPS and I'm sure the UPS drivers don't make anything close to what the USPS makes. Over paid under worked government employees.

I'm sorry, sour grapes, but people do send letters. Maybe you have forgotten that thank you notes for presents are required, or were you raised by wolves? Maybe you also think it is okay to express your sympathy to someone on the death of a family member by email. Call me old fashioned, but I would call that the ultimate in tacky.

I also don't know what your problem is with mail delivery, but it never takes us more than a couple of days to receive our mail. Maybe you have forgotten to identify your house, so a postman/woman can't be sure of your address.

I also appreciate the fact that I can go to my local post office and mail packages for about a third the price that I would pay for UPS delivery. Oh, by the way, I can also renew my passport (including getting photos) while I'm mailing that package.

It sounds as if you just love to dump on government workers with or without any justification. You must just love the corporate world and their tactics. If you think government workers are overpaid, how would you classify all those hefty bonuses for the management in private industry?

You need to check out the true causes of the USPS financial difficulties. They are trying to bust the union. It is financially viable.

Sour grapes - You are way off line when it comes to the USPS. Granted, they are losing 1st class mail service due to the Internet, but, I haven't had a problem getting my mail timely for a number of years. Also remind yourself the UPS and Fed-Ex do not deliver in certain rural areas whereby the USPS does. Anyone who is shipped a parcel via UPS or Fed-Ex and lives in a rural area not serviced by either of these parcel carriers will get their package through the USPS, because that is what UPS and FED-EX use when they don't deliver in certain rural areas. Bashing the USPS really has nothing to do with this article anyway.

Amen, Alan!

This mainly hurts the poorest customers using their services. Have you noticed that corporate America attacks the poor with extra fees and penalties thinking that they are too powerless to complain? I really appreciate OWS for trying to right this horrendous wrong.

The Verizon fee did not seem to make financial sense. No fee if you pay at a Verizon store - costs employee time and processing expense - but maybe a way to market upgrade products? No fee to mail in a check? I know this causes a fee from the contractor that processes these mail-ins - seems like this would be the first type to add a fee. Maybe they make up for it with late fees for payments "delayed in the mail" or "lost".

I know there is an expense from credit card payments, but surely a big firm like Verizon can negotiate a pretty low rate. A payment via online one-time credit card payment requires zero employee intervention - it is verified and authorized by the card payment broker immediately, then payment can be posted to my account automatically. Look Ma, no hands.

If a company wants me to sign up for online statements ("paperless billing", which means paperless/printerless/envelopeless/postageless for them) then they should be willing to share the cost savings with me. My bank gives me a 25-cent credit in my checking account for each monthly statement they don't have to mail to me (M&I Bank subsidiary of Harris BMO.)

matt-2943341

I love it Ma bell dollared her self to death

Actually not, Ma Bell provided a reliable phone system with reasonable rates. What happened is competitors wanted the money and screamed anti trust. So our stupid government decided to "help us" and broke up the Bell system.

Since then, every nickle dime company moved in and the "competion" we got as customers led to nothing but higher rates and poor phone service. We got a lot of "cute" things, but call quality went down and cost went up.

Sure glad we got competion!

Bill, I'd have to agree with you. Phone service was so much better before Ma Bell was forced to break up.

I agree, I miss Bell Telephone....we knew what we were going to get, and that was no matter where we were or how much money we made....the phones and service were all the same for everyone! I sure don't see any benefit to the way it is now....

Thanks for saying that, Bill. Not just call quality went down - equipment quality, service quality, etc.

Not to mention the decent jobs at Western Electric that vanished. They built everything for the Bell Systems - residential, business, switching exchanges. Good jobs were sent off-shore - facilities that once paid local taxes are empty. I dare you to find any new phone (landline or wireless) for sale that was assembled in USA with parts made in USA.

I wish I had the funds to have a lawyer investigate the possibility of breach of contract on the part of Verizon. Imagine all the free phones given away! Contracts are two sided... Modifying a contract during term, usually justifies nullification or modification by the other party. I certainly could be wrong, but it is an interesting premise.

I got sick and tired of contracts and the price. I went the way of track phone. Receptions not good everywhere but you cannot beat the price!

I have an older Verizon, pay as you go, plan. $50 for two months, unlimited text, and unused minutes roll over. They keep trying to get me to upgrade my phone, but the new phones don't work with my plan.

DaveA: I actually went to battle with Sprint some nine years ago, because I was paying for "PCS" service (satellite I believe) and didn't have roaming charges, then suddenly I was roaming no matter where I was including my home town; when I called them they said they didn't have PCS at the moment due to upgrades they were undergoing, so everyone was on analog. With no notice, no courtesy call, nothing. I told them to get bent, dropped them, they sent me some nastygrams threatening to sue me for my early termination fees, so I unleashed a lawyer on them, who promptly made them realize they weren't making the breakup any better with being nasty. In fact, they DID breach our contract, and were attempting to force me to pay for a service they were not able to provide...had I wanted to I could have forced them further but after that, I was just glad to get rid of them.

It's not really a question of whether I can afford it - in terms of dollars, it's not that much. But in terms of aggravation and insult, it's immense! The $2 would probably have affected me, as there are times when I must use this payment method...but it only would have affected me until my contract expires in April of 2013. (And if it weren't for the cancellation fees, I'd be gone already! It's just smarter business for me to pay the $2 for about 15 months rather than pay cancellation fees on five lines).

I left B of A when they made their bonehead decision to charge for ATM card use (even though they reversed that decision), and I expect I'll do the same with Verizon when my contract expires.

I wouldn't pack my bags for a socialist country, just a few more years and you'll already be a resident. Too bad public outrage couldn't sway some of the decisions our government makes!

"Free Market"... that is a joke when the government as we know it exists to enable the corporate rip offs that are going on. If corporate power is against populist power, corporations win every time. That is the cause of our current situation. The market is controlled by the corporations. It is not "Free".

No, see that wasn't the case. Originally, the news of the increase was LEAKED; Verizon just verified it when asked about it. I don't know when they were planning to announce it, but it wasn't going to be this week.